Painful Secrets
by I'm The Night Writer
Summary: ONE BITTY SCENE IN THE SECOND CHAPTER HAS BEEN ADDED, BUT IT IS NOTHING IMPORTANT. Gus sees a side of Shawn he never knew existed...And Shawn tells Gus a secret that he has been rejecting for years...Please R
1. Chapter 1

**By: Iron Anne Flint**

**A/N: This story may contain scenes of violence later on...none at the moment though...**

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Gus walked into Shawn's apartment, not even bothering to knock. Gus had been gone for a couple days, and he thought he would surprise Shawn by coming home a few hours early. After trying the Psych offices, and not finding Shawn, he thought he'd drop by Shawn's apartment.

He shut the door behind him and looked around, the place was surprisingly clean, for Shawn being who he was. "Shawn?" he called out. He peered into the front room and saw Shawn, fast asleep sprawled out on a chair in nothing but his lime green boxer-shorts and a pair of socks.

Gus looked at his best friend and shook his head, "Shawn, only you." he said out-loud do himself. Shawn simply groaned and shifted his head.

Gus was getting thirsty so he figured he'd help himself to something from the fridge, but as he was walking over to the kitchen, he heard his friend mumbling in his sleep. He couldn't hear all of what Shawn was saying, but he did hear the words, "Don't hurt . . . " and "Please . . . no more . . . " Gus was concerned, especially once Shawn began to whimper. It was the kind of whimper that you would hear from a child who had been hurt in some way.

Gus walked over and knelt beside his friend, "Shawn, are you alright?" he asked. But when he put his hand on Shawn's arm, Shawn curled his arms and legs in and turned in the chair, "No! Don't use the stun gun on my arms again! Stop please!" Shawn whimpered. Gus couldn't take anymore, he frantically tried shake Shawn awake, "Shawn! Shawn! Wake up!" he shouted.

Shawn thrashed about for a minute but then his eyes snapped open as he looked at Gus with a fear in his eye that Gus had never seen before. "Sh-Shawn? Shawn what were you dreamin' about man?" he asked

Shawn took a shaky breath, "I thought I had rejected that memory from my mind. All those years I never thought of it again. But all it took to bring it back was one punch."

"I'm here for you, man. What happened? You know you can tell me." Gus said

Shawn nodded and sat upright in the chair, "Well, it happened when I was a kid..."

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**Well, tell me whatcha think so far and if I should continue...Please R&R **


	2. Chapter 2

**Santa Barbara, 1986**

Shawn was spending the night at Gus' house, and at the current moment, the two friends were both standing in Gus' kitchen and were making . . . er . . . better yet, attempting to make Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. "No, Shawn, don't put the cheese in ye . . . Oh man! Now you ruined it! You were to drain the water out first." Gus said with a frown at Shawn.

"Oh well, we'll just pretend it's like soup. It's no biggie!" Shawn said, shrugging his shoulders.

Gus rolled his eyes, threw his hands in the air and sat down at the table with a huff, "Well if that's the way your gonna make it, I ain't that hungry. Huh, whoever heard of Mac & Cheese soup."

Shawn just sighed, and continued to make the watery Macaroni & Cheese.

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**30 minutes later in Gus' bedroom...**

"I still can't believe you actually ate that!" Gus said

"Oh Gus, it wasn't that bad . . . just a little, er, watery that's all." Shawn lied, he really thought it tasted awful, but was he one to admit he was wrong? Not really.

Gus rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Shawn."

After he said this, there was knock at his door and Gus' dad poked his head thru, "Hey. Just wanted to know if you two wanted to walk down to the corner for some ice cream." It was a beautiful evening, and the corner-store was only 5 minutes away if you decided to walk.

Shawn and Gus looked at each other with growing smiles, "Yea!" they both said in unison and hopped off the bed.

Shawn looked back at Gus and raised his eyebrows, "Race you to the door." he challenged.

"Your on!" Gus said back.

Mr. Guster stood to the side and acted as referee, "Ready? 1 . . . 2 . . . 3!" The boys rushed past Mr. Guster and bounded down the stairs. The man then ran over to the top of the stairs, just in time to see the boys tie. But Shawn, being his usual self, took all the glory, "Haha! I won!" he said

"You did not and you know it!" Gus retaliated

Mr. Guster smiled as he came down the steps, "Come on boys. You tied, you both won! Now, do you two want ice cream or . . ." he could not finish his sentence, as his house phone rang. "Let me see who this is, then we can go." he said as he picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

The male voice on the other line sounded almost frantic,_ "Is this Mr. Guster?" _the man asked

"Yes it is. May I ask who's calling?" he replied

"This is your wife's oldest brother, Brian. I'm callin' from the hospital, listen she's been in a horrible accident, you and your son better come right away." Brian said

"What?! We'll be right there!!" he shouted and slammed the phone back on the receiver.

"What happened?" Shawn and Gus asked together

Mr. Guster just turned to Shawn, "Listen Shawn, I need you to stay here, I'm gonna call Mrs. Emerson, next door, and have her come over here and watch you. Once I do that, call your dad. Have him pick you up. Me and Gus need to go to the hospital. Understand?"

Shawn nodded dumbly.

Mr. Guster turned around and dialed the his neighbors number, After asking her, he hung up the phone and turned back to Shawn, "She'll be here in about 5 minutes, will you be ok til then?"

"Yes, sir." Shawn said

"Alright, let's go son." Mr. Guster said

"But what happened, dad?" Gus asked

"I'll tell you on the way there." his dad replied, as him and his son walked out the door to their car, and drove away.

Shawn watched them drive away then closed the door. He slowly walked over to the telephone and dialed his house number.

said his dad's voice on the other line

"Hey dad."

"Shawn, what're you calling me for? Is something wrong?"

"Mr. Guster and Gus had to go to the hospital and Mr. Guster told me to stay here at his house with his neighbor and call you and have you pick me up."

Henry gave an exasperated sigh, _"Alright I'll be there in about 20 minutes. Will you be alright 'til then?"_

"Yea I'll be fine. Bye."

"Bye."

Just after he hung up the phone, he turned on the TV to see if there were any good cartoons to watch while he was waiting. Once he sat down on the couch, he heard a knock at the door. Figuring it was Mrs. Emerson, he went over to the door and swung it open. Much to his surprise it wasn't Mrs. Emerson, but a man standing there with a big grin on his face.

"Who are you?" Shawn asked,

"Your Dad sent me over to watch you. Well? Aren't you going to invite me . . . in!" he said, quickly shoving Shawn to the side and stepping in, closing the door behind him.

"Are you Henry Spencer's boy?" the man asked

Shawn looked at the man and nodded as he moved backwards, and the dark-skinned man slowly advanced, "Y-yes." he stuttered

The man smiled evilly as he swung his leg and kicked it hard into Shawn's rib-cage. Shawn flew back hitting his face on the corner of the coffee table. He cried out in pain, as tears began running freely down his face.

The man then knelt down, tied Shawn's hand behind him with a small piece of rope, then gagged him. Hearing a knock at the door he stopped, leaving Shawn crying and whimpering in pain on the floor and unable to move. Making sure Shawn could not be seen, the man walked over to the door and opened it to find Mrs. Emerson standing there, looking confused, "Who are you? You're not supposed to be here!" she said, "Mr. Guster called me! He wanted me to come over and watch his son's best friend!"

"No," he replied rather gruffly, "Uh...I just happened to come by. I am his brother-in-law and I told him that I would stay with the kid" and with that, he shut the door in her face.

"Well! He was rude!!!" she said, her face getting red. She turned around and stormed back to her house.

"Don't worry Shawn, I got rid of her." he said, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a stun-gun, "And soon as I'm done here, we'll go away. Just you and I." His face was filled with pure evil as he turned the stun-gun on, rolled Shawn on his side, and placed it on Shawn's back.

Shawn's terror filled eyes and muffled cries filled the room. His small body, curled and twitched at the electric shocks that felt like they were pulsing through his very veins. The man pulled the stun-gun away from the boys back, but Shawn's muscles still continued to convulse and twitch as the leftover shocks ran through his body.

The man paused for a minute and looked at the bruised and bloodied boy lying with his eyes closed on the floor. The stranger began to almost feel pity for him . . . but no. His father had thrown him in prison, made him serve 15 years . . . Now he was going to make Spencer pay.

"Doesn't look like you're gonna be any more trouble" he said. "Now, to get you out of here."

Outside the house Henry's truck pulled into the drive. He got out and noticed Mrs. Emerson waving for his attention and calling, "Mr. Spencer! I would be over there right now, but when I got there a rude man said that he was called to watch your boy!"

"What!?" Henry shouted, as he ran for the front door burst it open. The scene before Henry, filled him with rage. He ran in and kicked the stun-gun out of the mans hands and dealt him a hard upper cut. He then got on top of the man and started punching him over and over and over again. In the face, in the chest . . . anywhere his fists' landed. Hot tears of rage subconsciously poured down Henry's face as he shouted and yelled at the man he was beating up, "Don't you ever touch my son you...!"

"Mr. Spencer!!?" a young voice called behind him. It was Gus, he and his father realized that his wife was fine, and the call they received was a fake.

Mr. Guster rushed over and grabbed Henry by the arms and yanked him away from the bloodied man lying unconscious on the ground. "Let me go!!!! I'm gonna kill him!!!!!!! I'm gonna kill him!!!!!" Henry shouted

"Listen Henry, Shawn needs you! He's hurt! You hear me? Shawn . . . needs . . . you !!", Mr. Guster said trying desperately to calm Henry down so he wouldn't kill the intruder. It seemed to work. Henry turned his head around and saw his son lying crumpled up, unconscious on the floor. He broke away from Mr. Guster and knelt down by his son, "Oh Shawn . . . what did he do to you?" he gently scooped Shawn up in his arms and held him close. His eyes filled with tears as he hugged his son, and rocked back and forth, his body racking with sobs. Gus began crying as well, as he also knelt and grabbed Shawn's limp hand dangling by his side. Mr. Guster rushed over to the phone and dialed 9-1-1 to get an ambulance.

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To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews so far!! I'm very glad you are enjoying it!! Well, without further ado, here is the 3rd chapter!

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After they arrived at the hospital, the medics immediately took Shawn to Emergency, and rushed him into X-rays.

"Wait let me go with him!" Henry shouted as the medics hurried past him, with Shawn on a Gurney.

Mr. Guster just put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Henry, it's ok. They know what they're doin', Shawn'll be okay."

Henry just stood there for a minute, drawing in long shaky breaths of anger and fear.

_Fear._ A word that he was foreign to as a cop. A word that Henry did not include in his, or Shawn's vocabulary. He always had told his son, _"Man-up and face them head on." _But if Shawn lived, how was he supposed to live life with the fear of this awful memory? How was Henry supposed to face the fear that his son might not live? The fear that he might have to bury his . . .? He broke from Mr. Guster's grasp and wearily staggered over to a chair in the waiting room, and put his head in his hands. 

Gus then walked up next to his dad, "Dad, will Shawn be all right?" he asked, his eyes glistening with tears.

Mr. Guster looked down at his son, and put a hand on his back, "Of course he will. He'll be fine, son." He said, more to himself than his son. "Come on, let's go sit down."

They then both walked over a couple chairs next to Henry and sat down.

After a couple hours of silence, Henry weak voice was heard, "The man who . . . did this to Shawn, was a man I arrested for counterfeit about 16 years ago. He had a trial, was found guilty and sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary. I guess he was finally released and wanted revenge on me, he wanted to hurt me because I threw him behind bars. But he didn't take it out on me . . . he took it out on an innocent boy, _MY _son!" he shouted, getting up roughly and slamming his fist against the wall.

Mr. Guster got up from his seat, put both his hands on Henry's shoulders and turned him around, "Listen Henry, the cops got 'im, he's in prison an' that's where he's stayin'. And Shawn . . . Shawn'll be fine. He's a strong kid, he always has been, got that from you."

Henry's voice was hardly a whisper, "But I don't know if his body is strong enough to handle what he's been through. He's only eight years old . . . and now he's been put through something that, even if he does live he might not ever fully recover from mentally, and there would be nothing I could do about it . . ."

"Hey, listen to me . . ." Mr. Guster began, but before he could finish his sentence, a doctor came in and asked for the family of Shawn Spencer. Henry, Mr. Guster, and Gus all stood up and walked toward the doctor.

"Mr. Spencer, my name is Dr. Eugene Callaway, I'm your son's doctor." He said, extending his hand toward Henry.

Henry shook the hand of the middle-aged doctor, "Is my son all right?" he asked.

The doctor nodded, "The worst injuries he received were two fractured ribs that we bandaged on his left side, and a small gash we stitched up on his right cheek. Of course he has some bruises on his face and chest, along with a burn mark on his back from the stun-gun. We will keep him overnight for observation, but he can go home in the morning."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief, "Where is he? Can we see him?"

"Sure, you all can follow me." Dr. Callaway said, and began walking down the long hallway,

"He's asleep right now. The boy was in pain, so we gave him a small amount of Codeine; and to prevent muscle spasms from the stun-gun we gave him Methocarbamol, which is also known as Robaxin." As he said this, they arrived at Shawn's room, "If he wakes up, call the nurse in, she knows what to do."

"All right, thank you doctor." Mr. Guster said, shaking Dr. Callaway's hand while Henry just walked right in room, followed shortly by Mr. Guster and his son.

Henry's breath was shaky as he slowly approached his son's bedside, and looked upon his bruised face. He took the seat by the bed, reached out and grasped his son's hand. But when he did, Shawn gave a small whimper and began to stir. Henry stood back up and placed a gentle hand on Shawn's brow, "Hey-hey bud, it's ok. It's dad, I'm here for you son." This seemed to calm Shawn down, as he subconsciously gripped Henry's strong hand tightly in his own, as if he were afraid to let go.

Gus just gazed upon his best friend and tears began rolling down his cheeks. He walked around to the other side of Shawn's bed and whispered, "I-I'm sorry I didn't eat y-your M-Mac & Cheese, Sh-Shawn."

Mr. Guster walked over to Henry's side, "Do you want me and Gus to stay here, Henry?" he asked

Henry shook his head, "No, it's alright. You, and especially Gus, need sleep."

"Alright man, if there's anything I can do for you at anytime, let me know. Me'n Gus'll probably visit tomorrow afternoon if that's alright." he replied

Henry nodded, "Sure, that'd be great. Thanks for being here."

"Of course. Come on Gus, let's go home. We can visit Shawn tomorrow afternoon at his house." he said, holding his hand out to his son, as they walked out the door, while Henry sat back down and continued to hold his own son's hand.

After a moment, Shawn began moving his head from side to side and whimpering as if scared. Henry gently shot up from his chair and gently ran his free hand through Shawn's hair, "Hey, Shawn. Calm down, it's alright, don't be scared."

Beads of sweat were beginning to form on Shawn's face when his hazel eyes suddenly snapped open, and he gazed at his father with a fear the broke Henry's heart. "D-Dad?" Shawn asked weakly

"That's right Shawn, it's dad."

"Dad, don't let that man hurt me anymore . . . please I don't wanna hurt anymore." he whimpered, then breaking down into sobs.

This scene, was the most painful thing that Henry ever had to endure. He was struggling to keep his composure, but losing in the fight. "The man isn't gonna hurt you anymore, I'm gonna be right here. I'll always be right here with you."

Shawn squeezed his eyes shut and gave a small grunt of pain, "Don't leave me alone dad. Please stay here, don't go." he mumbled as he slowly began drifting off to sleep again."

"I won't son." Henry replied, his eyes misting with tears, "It's gonna be ok, dads here."

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Henry woke up with a start the next morning and immediately looked over at his sons bed beside him. Shawn was awake, sitting up, and munching on a small bowl of Pineapple chunks. Henry put his hand on Shawn's shoulder, "Hey son, how are you? I mean, are, uhh, you feelin' alright?" he asked

Shawn nodded slowly, "Yea I think so. My side hurts really bad though."

"That's because two of your ribs are fractured, they should hurt." he said, "I'm just glad they didn't break and puncture a lung." Just then, the nurse came in.

She was very friendly and had a smiling face, "Good morning, Mr. Spencer!" she said cheerily, "Can I get you anything?" she asked

"Uh, I'll just have a cup of coffee, black, and a bowl of whatever he's eatin'." He replied

"Alright, and what about you Shawn, are you ok?"

Shawn just nodded, his mouth to full of Pineapple to speak. The nurse gave a small chuckle and walked out to get Henry's order.

Shawn swallowed his Pineapple and took a deep breath, "Dad, a-about last night . . ."

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A/N: Well, whaddya think? Let me know with a review!!!! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_"Dad, a-about last night . . ." Shawn began shakily, biting his lip and beginning to cry, "It was my fault, I-I shouldn't have answered the door."_

_"Henry shook his head, "Son, no . . ."_

_But I thought it was Mrs. Emerson and just opened the door without asking who it was, and it turned out to be . . ."_

_"Shawn, stop!" Henry said forcefully._

_Shawn stopped talking, tears running down his face._

_"I'm sorry, but it was not your fault. You thought it was Mrs. Emerson. Anyone would have." Henry continued, "It wasn't you, it wasn't me, it was him. It's just one of those things Shawn, and you can't go blaming yourself for it." He gently placed his hands on either side of Shawn's face, and kissed him on the forehead, "Understand, son?"_

_Shawn sniffled a bit and nodded, grabbing another piece of Pineapple from the bowl on his lap and taking a big bite out of it._

_"And Shawn," Henry said. Shawn turned his head around to face his father, who was looking at him right in the eyes, "I don't want you to dwell on this. That could be the worst thing that you could ever do. I just want you to push it out of your mind, and never think about it again. Ok?"_

_An hour later, Shawn and Henry were checking out of the hospital, and on their way back home._

(End flashback)

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(Present)

Gus closed his eyes and sighed, "I remember now. I guess I just hadn't thought about it in so long . . . it just slipped out of my mind. I was there when you were in the hospital."

"You were? I guess you would've . . . all I really remember is him." Shawn said, shuddering slightly.

"How did you remember again?"Gus asked, "I thought you had blocked the memory out."

"Well, let's just say I was at Tom Blair's Pub, and I was just a little bit drunk, and I started hitting on a gorgeous blond, who had a boyfriend who was a boxer." He stated matter of fact-ly, "But that's off the subject. How did you know that I had completely blocked that out of my mind? I mean, I could've just not talked about it."

Gus shook his head, "I know, because I remember when we came to visit you after you came home. We were supposed to come the next day, but dad said we should give you some more time to rest . . ."

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(Flashback)

Shawn was sitting cross-legged on the blue sofa, watching The Flintstones, when Gus cautiously approached him, "Hey Shawn." He mumbled to his best friend

Shawn smiled and shut off the TV, "Hey Gus!"

"How are you doin'? I mean, are you all right?" he asked

Shawn looked at him with a quizzical look, "Uhhh, yea. Why wouldn't I be? Oh! I'll race you to tree! Ready? 1 . . . 2 . . ." but before he reached three, he dashed off leaving a very angry Gus yelling and tailing after him. "But that's not fair Shawn!!! Why do you always do that?!"

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(Present)

"I remember the first couple nights after it happened, I had horrible nightmares. And when I got decked by the blonds boyfriend, I blacked out, and when I woke up, all these memories came back to me. And now those awful nightmares I had are all coming back." Shawn said, rubbing his face wearily.

"Are you gonna see someone about it?" Gus asked

"No! I didn't have to see someone then, and I shouldn't have to now!" he said, "Ya know what, I take that back . . . and as much as I hate to say it, I gotta talk to dad." He said getting up and walking toward his bedroom to get dressed.

Gus was getting confused, "Your dad? Do you really think he's the best person to be talkin' to, Shawn?" he asked

"No," Shawn called back as he pulled on a pair of jeans, "But I gotta ask him something that's been bugging me since I've been having these dreams."

"And what's that?" Gus asked as Shawn emerged from the room, now fully dressed.

Shawn walked over to the counter by his kitchen and snatched up his cell phone and the keys to his motorcycle, "Who did this to me and why, I know he knows Gus. I remember the guy asking me if I was Henry Spencer's son."

Gus got up and walked toward Shawn, "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I should probably do this alone, unfortunately. Besides, I could use a good ride on my bike." And with that, he told Gus he could crash there until he got back, and then walked out of his apartment building, jumped on his motorcycle, and drove to his dad's house.

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It was 9:15 P.M., and Henry was dozing in front of his TV. He was just about to drift off to sleep, when there was a sudden knocking on his door, "What the . . . ? Who would be here at this time of night?" he said to himself, as he grumpily got up off his couch and swung open the door to reveal Shawn standing there, his helmet under his arm. "Shawn, what're you doing here?" he asked, "If this is about a case you're on, contact me in the morning."

"Well, good evening to you too, father." Shawn replied with a smirk, "and this isn't about a case. Believe it or not this is a personal visit."

Henry couldn't believe it, "Your kidding?"

Shawn shook his head, "Nope. There is something I need to ask you but it doesn't have to do with a case. It's about something that happened to me a long time ago."

Henry sighed, "All right." He said, standing to the side and opening his door wider, allowing Shawn to come in.

After he had set his helmet by the door, he walked over to the TV and collapsed on the couch.

Henry closed the door, then went over and sat next to his son, "So, what is it that you need to talk to me about?" he asked, shutting the TV off.

Shawn leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of him, "Well, it-it's about the night I got beat up."

Henry knew full-well what Shawn was talking about, "Shawn, I thought you forgot that."

"Well so did I, until a guy punched me at the bar and it... all of it . . . well most all of it . . . came back to me." Shawn replied

"How could a punch bring a memory like that back?" Henry asked

Shawn folded his arms and sat back in the couch, "I don't know dad, but it did. It also brought back the nightmares I used to have."

Henry fell silent for a minute, he remembered the nights when his son would have nightmares . . .

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(The night Shawn and Henry got home from the hospital)

Shawn was tossing and turning in his bed, "No, stop! Don't hurt me anymore, please!" he cried out, as the tears mingled with sweat soaking the gray T-shirt he was wearing.

Henry rushed into the room, and sat on the edge of Shawn's bed. He grabbed Shawn's shoulders and gently shook him, "Shawn, Shawn! Wake up!" he said

Shawn whimpered for a minute and his fearful eyes opened. He gazed at his father, then threw his arms around his dad's neck, looking for some form of comfort. Trying to ignore the stinging pain in his side where his ribs were cracked, he forced himself to hold back tears as he clung to his father.

"It's ok Shawn. It was just a nightmare." Henry said, gently rubbing his sons back, "You're all right."

They pulled away from each other, and Shawn nodded, wiping away the tears that were beginning to well in his eyes.

"Was the dream about last night?" Henry asked

"Yea." Shawn mumbled

"Listen to me Shawn, remember what I told you this morning? I want you to push that memory out of your mind. When things like this happen, we can't dwell on them. We just have to keep going with our lives. It's in the past. All right?"

Shawn sniffled a little, "Ok, I'll try."

Henry shook his head, "I need you to do more than try, I need you to forget it entirely. I've seen to many cases of little kids your age being abused, and after it happens they end up going into Psych Therapy, because they can't let go. I don't want that happening to you, son. Now, lay back down and try to go back to sleep, ok?"

Shawn nodded as he placed his head back on his pillow, and closed his eyes.

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Henry subconsciously shook the thought off, "Just tell me what you wanna know Shawn."

"I wanna know who did it." Shawn said, "I wanna know who beat me up 20 years ago."

For once, Henry really didn't know what to say. "Shawn, how am I supposed to know?" he said

"I know that you know, dad. Just–who was it?"

TBC . . .


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is the last chapter! Hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews!!!!!! It's been great!

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Henry sighed, knowing he had no choice but to just tell his son the truth. "It was a man I had thrown in prison 16 years earlier for counterfeit. The only thing was, after he had been thrown in prison for what he did to you, I found out he was . . . Gus' uncle. Mrs. Guster's brother."

Shawn just sat there in shock, and for a moment he couldn't speak.

"Shawn?" Henry said, placing his hand on Shawn's knee.

Shawn's voice was unusually quiet as he spoke, "The man who did that, was Gus' uncle? And he never told me?"

Henry shook his head, "I don't know what to tell you, Shawn. Don't be too hard on Gus. He felt bad enough as it was."

"I-I gotta go talk to Gus." Shawn said, getting up roughly.

"Shawn, do you want me to go with you?" Henry asked

"No! I can talk to my be- my friend by myself, thanks." He said, snatching up his helmet from by the door and storming out.

Henry dropped his head in his hands and whispered to himself, "Be careful, son."

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Gus had just dozed off after watching a 'CSI: Miami' rerun on TV, but sat up with a jerk at the faint sound of a motorcycle. He got to his feet and walked over to the window, just in time to see Shawn's bike pull out of the parking lot, after it had just got in. Gus shook his head, and walked out of the apartment so he could follow Shawn, knowing exactly where he'd be. Down at Tom Blair's Pub.

About 13 minutes later, at Tom Blair's Pub . . .

Gus walked into the bar, and instantly began looking around for Shawn. He then saw him sitting at the far-left corner of the bar, with one empty beer bottle, and one half-gone beer in front of him. Gus slowly approached him, and sat down in the empty stool to Shawn's right, "Things not go well at your dads?" he asked

Shawn didn't even bother looking at Gus, "Oh, things went just peachy!" he said sarcastically, "I found out alotta things."

Gus gave Shawn a perplexed look, "What do you mean? What happened?"

Shawn gave a dry chuckle, and took a swig of his beer. "What _happened, _is that I found out, it was _your _uncle that beat me up that night."

Gus was at a loss for words, "Shawn, I-I'm . . . I . . ." he stuttered

"You're what? Sorry? Why didn't you tell me that Gus? It was _your _uncle, _you _knew it, and _you _didn't tell me! Why?!" he shouted, slamming the bottom of his bottle on the bar-top.

"Shawn, I gotta get you back home." Gus said.

"No! I can drive myself." he said back

"Shawn, you've had a couple drinks and there's no way I'm letting you near that bike, now gimme your keys." He said forcefully, holding his hand out to Shawn. And Shawn, being his usual self, gave it a slap. "Stop it, Shawn. Just give me your keys, and I'll make sure I pick up your bike after I drop you off home."

Shawn sighed, pulled the keys out of his pocket and reluctantly dropped them in Gus' hand, "There you happy?"

Gus simply put the keys in his pocket and grabbed Shawn by the arm, but Shawn pulled away. "I can walk myself, _mother_." he said, jerking away from Gus' grasp, and walking out of the Pub, to Gus' blue Toyota.

Gus told the barkeeper that he would be coming for the bike later, then followed Shawn out the door.

The whole ride home, and all the way into the apartment, not one word was spoken. When they reached Shawn's apartment, Shawn half-stumbled in and laid on his couch, placing the back of his hand on his forehead. Gus knew Shawn was getting headache, and went into his kitchen, pulled out two Ibuprofen and a pineapple juice, and gave them to Shawn. Shawn sat up and accepted them, popping the pills in his mouth and taking a drink of the juice. "Gus," he began softly, "All I want to know is when I first told you... why you didn't tell me it was your uncle that beat me up?"

"I-I, when I first found out . . . I was little and was just afraid that you wouldn't wanna be my best friend anymore if you knew. And then so many years went by and you forgot about everything, and never mentioned it so I just let it go. Shawn . . . Shawn I'm so sorry."

When Shawn didn't answer, he got up, "I gotta go get your bike now, I'll wait for the bus." he muttered.

"Hey Gus," Shawn said, as Gus was on his way out the door, "Gus, I'm sorry I blew up, ya know, back at the bar. And how . . ." he paused for a second, "How many best friends does one guy need?"

Gus turned around and smiled softly and held up one finger, "Just one man. . . . Thanks." he walked back over to Shawn and held out his fist, which Shawn bumped. "You might wanna hurry, the bus'll be at the corner any minute."

"Alright, I'll be back with yer bike in a little while." He replied, walking out the door.

Shawn smiled to himself, laid his head back on the couch. He closed his eyes, and fell into a long, peaceful slumber.

The End


End file.
